livinglegend:
There are numerous options and I won't sugarcoat starting out as a solo practioner is difficult, but what in life isn't.

However, if you go to law school it is intense! You will not be able to juggle all these different businesses as a 1L you will need to put the brakes on those businesses or find someone to run it for you.

If you want to be a solo CUNY is one of the best options out there. It is CHEAP one of the few schools to offer in-state tuition and if you qualify for that you have options.

As for respect that is something you do get as a lawyer. You know a lot of things and people will seek your advice it is one of the things that employment statistics don't show, but one of the things I truly love about being an attorney.

Nobody can say what the right choice is, but first step is to get an LSAT score and see if law school is even an option. If you end up with a 142 then the options out.

MisDirected:
Legend, I have heard a lot about first year law students going a little nutty. My mom and wife are totally on board and unless there is something major during that first year, I doubt I will be allowed to even deal with the general management of the business, we have a super, and the place runs itself.

The other business is kind of cool because I is busiest in the summer and during the holidays. Winter and fall are very very slow, dead really.

I did read a cool article about how one guy got to the top of his class by concentrating on the final exam as it was 100% of his grade, lol.

Jack had a question I forgot to answer, I do know many solos. I know several solo lawyers. One is a divorce lawyer who does very very well. He has grown that business to a mini empire. The other does all general practice and he seems to do well too.

There is my long time L/T lawyer, he was in his 80s, a real curmudgeon, not at all social, but he had a well established business with small landlords. He is semi retired now, has a young man who runs the business. they're on the low end of the solo train I guess.

I can get out there and sell myself. I can be a real whore. What's also nice is that my neighborhood has very few lawyers. I have a feeling that a sign that says ABOGADO will attract quite a number of people.

I'll spend years doing immigration forms, pistol permit forms, closings, holdovers and evictions, fine by me. I grew up in an office like that, it'll bring back nice memories.

jack24:
Live cheap during law school + Free Rent + Hispanic + willing to do family law, permits, and immigration?That's about as good a recipe as I've seen. There is no guarantee you'll like it, but it sounds like you are more cut out to go to law school than 90% of those inquiring on this board.

MisDirected:

--- Quote from: jack24 on March 12, 2013, 10:47:08 AM ---Live cheap during law school + Free Rent + Hispanic + willing to do family law, permits, and immigration?That's about as good a recipe as I've seen. There is no guarantee you'll like it, but it sounds like you are more cut out to go to law school than 90% of those inquiring on this board.

--- End quote ---

Good to hear from an actual attorney. The guys over at top-law-schools.com don't seem to think I have a good plan. Then again, they're the deluded types who think that once they go to a T14 they're going to be at the top 10% of their class, and the big law firms will flock to them. That may happen to some, but there are too many ifs involved.

I remember reading somewhere that the bigger law firms are usually started by C students who went to less than prestigious schools, because those guys are willing to take risks, where the A students from the top schools either end up in academia, or at a big firm too scared to leave their 6 figure jobs to do something bigger. Do I think I'll build the next big law firm in Manhattan? No, but if some C students from lower end schools can build those firms I can certainly build a business to support myself with a similar background.

My biggest obstical now is how LSAC will calculate my GPA. My pre transfer gpa from community college was 3.01 and my graduating GPA 3.86 but in between those two I had DDFF DCBB AND DF in three different semesters at three different schools. I was caring for my dad, and not in a good place in my life.

Thane Messinger:

--- Quote from: livinglegend on March 10, 2013, 04:45:45 PM ---ConclusionIn my anonymous internet poster opinion I recommend taking the LSAT seeing what score you get. Until you have an official score you cannot get into any law school. Once you have the LSAT score you don't need to enroll in law school right away and you can work for a law office or legal clinic and try it out. If you love it and want to pursue a legal career you have the LSAT score and can proceed. If you find being a lawyer is not for you then you are not obligated to enroll you will be out $100 for the LSAT fee and you will have saved yourself 3 years and 100,000 + dollars.

However, DO NOT and I repeat DO NOT go to law school simply because you do not know what else to do. No matter what profession you are in finding your first job is really difficult and starting as a lawyer is no different. Good luck.

--- End quote ---

Abolutely right, and especially as to the second paragraph. Know, too, that simply scoring well on the LSAT . . . even sufficient to get into Yale . . . will NOT translate automatically into great grades (although those are somewhat . . . somewhat . . . less crucial at a top 5 school), nor will it translate into a career that you actually like.

I'm working on something with the author of Later-in-Life Lawyers that addresses this point. And, if you'd like a good look at the Go/No-Go question (which every student, even stellar ones, should consider), one of the best write-ups is in The Slacker's Guide to Law School, which as it happens is a pretty good book for non-slackers too.